Coal-fired power plants currently account for more than 55 percent of the total electricity production in the United States. Extending the reliable lifetimes of fossil-fired boiler components may be considered important for reducing the maintenance cost and improving power plant operational efficiency. Currently, corrosion and erosion are leading causes of superheater and reheater boiler tube failures, which can result in costly, unscheduled outages. Several coatings and weld overlays have been used to extend the service life of boiler tubes.
Greater efficiency can be achieved in fossil-fired power plants by increasing the steam temperature and pressure into the Ultra Super Critical (USC) conditions (760° C. and 35 MPa). The USC conditions, however, promote coal ash corrosion and increase corrosion rates. In order to improve the reliability and availability of fossil-fired USC boilers, new coatings are needed to provide enhanced corrosion and erosion resistance without adversely affecting mechanical performance of the component materials.